Ammunition hoisting and loading apparatus of heavy ordnance.



A. T. DAWSON &\ 'J. HORNE; AMMUNITION HOISTING AND LOADVING'APPARATUSDFHEAVY QRDNANCE.

APPLICATION FILED DECSH 19'2. 1,188,628. Patented June 27, 1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1. 1

Sf 73 3 15 0/06 I 'Hz COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH co.. WASHINGTON, D. c.

A. T. DAWSON 6L1 HORNE.

AMMUNITION HOISTING AND LOADING APPARATUS 0F HEAVY OBDNANCE. APPLICATION FILED 050.231.1912.

1 1 88,628 Patented June 27, 1916 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2- 'lllB COLUMBIA ILANOGIIAPH c0, WASHINGTON, n. C.

A. T. DAWSON & J. HORNE. AMMUNITION HOISTING AND LOADING APPARATUS 0F HEAVY ORDNANCE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 3f, 1912. 1,188,628. Patented June 27,1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ARTHUR TREVOR DAWSON, OF WESTMINSTER, LONDON, AND JAMES HORNE, OF BARROW-IN-FURNESS, ENGLAND, ASSIGNORS TO VICKERS LIMITED, OF WEST MINSTER, ENGLAND.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 27, 1916.

Application-filed December 31, 1912. Serial No. 739,438.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, ARTHUR TREVOR DAWSON, knight, and JAMES HORNE, both subjects of theKing of Great'Britain, re-

siding, respectively, at Vickers House, Broadway, \Vestminster, in the county of London, England, and Naval Construction l/Vorks, Barrow-in Furness, in the county of Lancaster, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in orRelating to the Ammunition Hoisting and Loading Apparatus of Heavy Ordnance, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to ammunition hoisting and loading apparatus of the kind in whichthe powder chargesand the projectile are raised in lower cages fromthe magazines to a working chamber, wherein the said powder charges and projectiles are transferred from the lower cages'to intermediate or waiting receivers and thence to the upper or gun loading cage by which they are carried to the breech of the gun.

The chiefobject of thepresent-invention is to provide improvements in the mechanism constituting hoisting and loading apparatus of the above stated kind.

'Inorder that-the said inventionmay be clearly understood and readily carried into efiect we will describezthe same more fully with reference to-the accompanying drawings in which- Figure l is a sectional side elevation of a gun mounting showing one constructional form of the improved hoisting and loading apparatus, the gun loading cage being shown for convenience of description in two positions which as a matter of fact it never occupies at the same moment. Fig. 2 is a sectional end elevation of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 with the lower cages in a different position from that shown in the latter figure. Fig. 4 is an enlarged view of the lower part of Fig. 3. Fig. 45 is a view showing the means for operating the powder and projectile trays. Fig. 5 is a half plan of the working chamber, and Figs. 6 and 7 are sections taken approximately on the lines 1, 1 and 2, 2 of Fig. 1.

A is the working chamber that moves with the turret during training, B is the gun loading cage that conveys the ammunition from the working chamber to the gun,

B is the movable powder holder and B the projectile tray of the said cage.

C is the rotary trunk and D is the powder room from which the powder charges are loaded by means of the trays cl into the powdercage D.

E is the projectile cage that is loadedby means of the bogie e from the projectile room E.

D and E represent the powder charge receiver and the projectile receiver in the working chamber.

The projectile cage E is provided with a hinged tray 6 on which the projectile rests,

and with two pairs of vertically arranged studs 6 e ,-the former of which are. adapted to engage in sockets in the powder cage D and to. betemporarily locked thereto, as

is well understood. As the cages D, E reach the working chamber A the studs engage in sockets in lateral projections cl (Figs. 2, 3 and i) on the powder charge receiver :D and become temporarily locked thereto by spring bolts or other suitable means. The continued upward movement of the cages D. ,E lifts the receiver D into the'position shown in Figs. 3 and 4:. Dur ing this movement of the cages, the pivoted tray 6 of the projectile cage E is automatically tilted by the engagement of an' arm c thereon with a cam E (Fig. r)

and the projectile is caused to roll onto the receiver E as is shown in Figs. 3, L and 4. .At the same time the mterconnected trays (Z with which the powder cage D is provided are caused, by the engagementof an arm on one of the trays with the cam D (Fig. 4e) to tilt the powder charges outwardly c. away from the axis of the trunk) into the compartments of the powder charge receiver D lVhen the cages are lowered, the trays e, (Z resume their normal position and the aforesaid spring bolts connecting the studs 6 with the receiver D are disengaged by a cam, the receiver D being then in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2. hen the gun loading cage is lowered, the separate compartments in the receiver D are opposite those of the movable powder holder B so that the powder charges can be rammed directly from the former to the latter by the hydraulic rammers (Z cl" (Figs. 1 and 5). Similarly the projectile is rammed from the receiver to the tray 13 of the gun loading cage B by the rammer e*.

In the constructional forms of the invention illustrated, the movable powder holder of the gun loading cage, having separate compartments for the half powder charges, is shown as being of the kind set forth in the specification of the British Patent No. 25257 of 1911.

The projectile tray B of the gun loading cage is transversely pivoted so that it assumes an inclined position during the ascent and descent of the cage. The said tray may be actuated in any suitable manner; in the example shown it is actuated by a cam" slot in a fixed stop in the working chamber and another slot in the hinged loading tray.

hat we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. In ammunition hoisting and loading apparatus, the combination with the lower powder charge and projectile cages, the gun loading cage and its projectile tray, and the working chamber, of a powder charge holder carried by'the gun loading cage and having separate compartments for the half powder charges, a single intermediate waiting powder charge receiver in the working chamber having separate compartments, pivoted powder charge trays carried by said lower powder chargecage, means for tilting said trays as thecage reaches the working chamber to roll the powder charges outwardly from said trays into the separate compartments of the receiver, a single re- CGlVGl for the projectile, a tray pivoted to the projectile cage, a cam rail for tilting said tray to cause the projectile to roll outwa rdly into its receiver, means for ramming the powder charges and projectile from the receivers directly into the powder charge holder and the projectile tray of the gun loading cage, and means for mounting the ing chamber having separate compartments, 7

pivoted powder charge trays carried by said lower powder charge cage, means for tilting said trays as the cage reaches the working chamber to roll the powder charges outwardly from said trays into the separate compartments of the receiver, a single receiver for the projectile, a tray pivoted to the projectile cage, a-cam rail for tilting said tray to cause the projectile to roll outwardly into its receiver, means for ramming the powder charges and projectile from the re ceivers directly into the powder charge holder and the projectile tray of the gun loading cage, and means for mounting the said holder so that it can be displaced to bring its separate compartments in turn opposite the bore of the gun.

In testimony whereof we aflix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

ARTHUR TREVOR DAWSON. JAMES HORNE. Witnesses to the signature of SirArthur Trevor Dawson HENRY KING, JNo. R. OAswELL. I -lVitnesses to the signature of James Horne:

MARK G. ATKINSON, HENRY T. MCDOWALL.

copies ot this patent may be obtained for five cent: each, by nddreuing' the Comminlon'er of Patent;

Washington, D. G." v v 

